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SHOWN: L to R: Jonah Hill (dark shirt, curly hair), Michael Cera (wears red shirt with collar), Christopher Mintz-Plase (wears red shirt with NO collar). The three stars of the movie "Superbad." We photograph them at The Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, CA. on Monday, july 30, 2007
(Katy Raddatz/The Chronicle)
**Christopher Mintz-Plase, Michael Cera, Jonah Hill Mandatory credit for the photographer and the San Francisco Chronicle. No sales; mags out. less

SB-189 : Evan (Michael Cera, left), Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, center), and Seth (Jonah Hill, right), can have the night they�ll remember for the rest of their lives in Superbad, the new film from ... more

Photo: Melissa Moseley SMPSP

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The freaks and geeks of Judd Apatow's 'Superbad'

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The trio of young stars of the new Judd Apatow-produced comedy "Superbad" sit around a conference room table in the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse have done many, many interviews; their publicity tour of the country has lasted most of the summer, and they're heading to Europe for the fall. They are so comfortable with each other and with the press that their latest interview begins with Hill finishing up a story about a conversation he had with an ex-girlfriend.

The ex-girlfriend kept accusing him of making everything into a joke. He describes listening to her during a frank talk and agreeing.

Hill, 23, looking surprisingly hip in big hair and black-rimmed glasses, grins. Cera, 19, best known for his role as George Michael on the Fox TV show "Arrested Development," and Mintz-Plasse, 18, whose first acting job is in "Superbad," bust up laughing.

It's a funny punch line, one that could have come out of an Apatow-directed movie, such as this summer's "Knocked Up" or the 2005 hit "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

The critical success of Apatow's TV show "Freaks and Geeks" has turned into commercial success in film, and that affords him the opportunity to nurture his actors and writers. "Superbad" was written by "Knocked Up" star Seth Rogen and producer Evan Goldberg, based on their high school experiences. (The main characters are helpfully named Seth and Evan.) Rogen first gave the script to Apatow as a writing sample when he was acting in "Freaks and Geeks," and it helped persuade Apatow to let Rogen start writing for his next show, "Undeclared," in which Rogen also starred.

Men's relationships - with each other and with women - tend to be the primary subjects of the Apatow oeuvre, and the men tend to be misfits. (Hill vehemently shoots down the suggestion that women take a lesser role in Apatow's work, citing Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann, who got good reviews for her work in "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin".)

At the heart of "Superbad" is the relationship between Seth and Evan as they are poised on the brink of college and the stressful prospect of actual physical contact with girls. Rogen originally envisioned playing himself in the film, but by the time the movie was ready to be made, he was too old to play a high school student.

Cera, who had worked with director Greg Mottola on "Arrested Development," was cast first, as Evan. Then Hill, who had supporting roles in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," was tapped to play Seth.

Casting Fogell, a nerdy friend of Seth and Evan's who spends much of the movie addressed as the name on his fake ID, McLovin', was more challenging. After the production team saw most of the available young actors in Hollywood, they turned to nonprofessionals. Mintz-Plasse was one of the last boys to try out, but he was a perfect fit.

Rogen, although not a principal, does have a role in the film, as Officer Michaels, one of two very bad cops (along with "Saturday Night Live's" Bill Hader as Officer Slater). They show up after the liquor store where McLovin' is attempting to buy booze gets robbed. McLovin' spends a lot of time in the backseat of the police car as the officers drink, do target practice and offer gems of wisdom on love and life.

"Never meet a woman in a bar," Michaels counsels, as Slater notes that Michaels met his ex-wife in the very tavern the three of them are sitting in. It turns out she was a prostitute, and Slater apologizes for sleeping with her. McLovin' reacts to this information with a beautifully alarmed look on his face.

The film takes place during a single night in which Seth's crush - a hottie named Jules, played by Emma Stone - is having a party that Evan's love object - cute Becca, played by Martha Mac-Isaac - is attending. Fogell has also just acquired his fake ID, and Seth has agreed to buy all the alcohol for the party. While McLovin' is hanging out with the cops, Seth and Evan end up at a really weird party with some scary adults before the three friends finally make it to Jules' house.

The layered relationship between Seth and Evan is what attracted Cera and Hill to the film.

"I look for good writing and dialogue," Cera says.

"Yeah, conversations are the most important parts," Hill says.

"And the relationships need to feel real," Cera adds.

"That's what's so great about 'Superbad,' " Hill says. "It's very truthful, and our interactions seem real because we actually know each other really well."

Improvisation played a big part in the picture.

"I would say 40 percent of the film was improvised," Hill says, "maybe like 50."

"Forty-two percent," Cera says.

Familiarity among cast and crew is standard in Apatow productions, which tend to have the same camera operators and the same catering companies.

"I know everyone's name, and I can have a real conversation with them," Hill says. "Judd's a loyal guy, and if you work hard, he'll keep you employed."

Hill is writing a project for Apatow called "The Middle Child," in which he plans to star, and he will be appearing in "Strange Wilderness" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," among other movies next year. Cera is set to begin filming another Apatow movie in January and says that he knows of no plans for an "Arrested Development" movie. ("Everyone keeps asking me that," he says.) Mintz-Plasse has no other projects lined up as yet.

Although working in Apatow films could keep one profitably busy for years, the biggest benefit from joining the fold might be getting opportunities to leave it.

"It gives you the chance of working outside of that, makes other people know who you are and become interested in your work," Hill says. "He's done us a great service." {sbox}